Dinner Invite
by hollyhobbit101
Summary: As far as first dates go, Magnus considers this one a success.


**A/N: This was written for the April round of the Fandom Writing Challenge on Tumblr. The theme this month was first date and my prompt was dinner. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Magnus was just lighting the candles and adding the finishing touches to the room when there was a knock at the door. A grin slowly spread across his face and he straightened his jacket before crossing the room and opening the door with a flourish. He beamed at the tall man standing somewhat awkwardly across from him.

"Alexander," he greeted. "Glad you came."

"Yeah," Alec mumbled, stepping inside and surveying the room with raised eyebrows. "Didn't realise this was a formal occasion," he commented.

Magnus frowned slightly. Formal? By his standards, this was just casual enough for a first date without being too relaxed. Perhaps he had overdone it a tad with the chandeliers and folded napkins, but still... He shook his head and huffed a small laugh. "Don't worry; it is just us after all," he reassured Alec. The pair stood in silence for a moment or two before Magnus clapped his hands and gestured to the table. "Shall we?"

* * *

All things considered, Magnus thought the dinner was going quite well. They had talked - well, Magnus had - fairly easily and the food was going down a storm; Alec had at first poked suspiciously at some of the dishes, but since then he had apparently decided that it was not, in fact, going to attack him and had taken a few small bites. Granted, it wasn't the reception Magnus was used to, but Alec was a Shadowhunter and their customs were different to anything he had experienced before. So he would take Alec's slight distaste with a pinch of salt and work around it. About halfway through the second course, Magnus decided drinks were in order and crossed over to the bar, glancing surreptitiously over at Alec as he did so. The young Shadowhunter gave off a relaxed appearance, but Magnus could see from the tension in his muscles that that was just a façade.

"Try it," Magnus suggested, coming back to the table and pushing a glass in Alec's direction. "It's my own recipe."

The corner of Alec's mouth quirked upwards as he reached out and took a sip. He coughed slightly and tried to hide his grimace behind a hand. "Yeah, that's very, um-"

"You hate it," Magnus summarised. "I could give it a little extra kick if you want?" He reached out, poised to snap his fingers over the glass, but Alec help up a hand, smiling sheepishly.

"Magnus... I don't, you know, drink. Like, at all. It slows me down and I can't afford that, especially now."

Magnus hummed and lowered his hands, sitting back and studying Alec from across the table. "Alexander?" he ventured after a few seconds.

"Yeah?"

"Do you Shadowhunters... Do you ever relax? Take time for yourself outside of your work?"

Alec considered for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I mean, just yesterday Izzy was out shopping with Clary. And I think she-"

Magnus reached over and placed a finger on Alec's lips. "As charming as Isabelle is, she is not who I meant."

"I... No," Alec admitted, sighing slightly.

Magnus nodded and rubbed his hands together, producing small blue sparks that fizzed in the air. "Then we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

"Magnus..." Alec began tiredly.

"Alexander," Magnus cut in. "I may not know much about Shadowhunter customs, but I do know that you are allowed to have fun every once in a while. Please, enjoy dinner with me, just for tonight."

* * *

The rest of the evening passed much more successfully and, to Magnus's delight, Alec began to relax slightly and seemed much more animated than he had before. The clock struck midnight and Alec looked up startled, like he couldn't believe he had stayed so long.

"I have to go," he apologised. "Got to get back to the Institute."

"Right, of course," Magnus replied. "Go save the world, Shadowhunter."

Watching Alec grab his coat and walk out the door, Magnus breathed a sigh of contentment and smiled to himself. As first dates went, he considered it quite the success.

* * *

 **A/N: It's short and probably quite terrible but I was on a deadline. I tried anyway. Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you have a moment! Bye!**


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